1 My Addiction

Monday, 26 April 2021

Do you know what reading feels like? For me, it's like swimming in the sea; it's very relaxing. When I submerge myself into the cold salty water, I can barely hear anything. There's only me in my own world. Free of worries.

I love the different waves of the sea. The friction between the wind and surface water pulls out different emotions. When it's too aggressive, you either feel thrilled or scared. When it's calm, you either feel bored or relaxed. It all depends on what kind of person you are. Or what type of reader you are. But if I were to really think that reading a book is like swimming in the sea, then I will probably always drown, unless someone pulls me up.

I'm a book addict. A bibliophile. A bookworm. A booklover. An avid reader, or I guess, that's an understatement. I'm an excessive reader, however you want to call it, name it, that's the very first thing anyone who knows me would describe me. And I guess, that's also how I would describe myself. A book addict. And I'm not exaggerating. I read everywhere, anywhere, and almost all the time, unless of course, someone snaps me out of it and pulls me out as I drown in the fantasy world, or when I'm in the bathroom doing God knows what, or attending to a customer's need, which by the way, is also about books. Yep, books.

Books are like air, except of course, they are visible. They're the reason I live. Really. Like literally. They are my family's source of income, which is why I've been surrounded by books since birth. Hence, the complete addiction to it.

My family and I are the owners of The Pilgrim Bookstore, so I'm surrounded by books all day of my life. It's like heaven. But I don't limit myself in one place. I also read at The Pilgrim Café while having my iced Americano; The Pilgrim Library while waiting for Luke, the very meticulous (possibly with OCD) Library Director who always triple-check on the boxes of book deliveries; The Pilgrim Supermarket while waiting for my turn at the checkout; The Pilgrim Church after the Sunday Mass while waiting for my papa to catch up with almost everyone as if he's running for Mayor; The Pilgrim Mall at the arcade while waiting for my 11-year-old brother, Robin, and my 9-year-old sister, Hailey who can both last two long hours of beating each other through arcade games; The Pilgrim School while waiting for Robin, Hailey, and my 15-year-old sister, Marie. Most people hate to wait for anyone or anything, but I love waiting. Because it doesn't feel like I'm wasting my time when I'm reading while waiting.

The Pilgrim is a small village in the Philippines that has secluded itself from small towns and cities with advanced technology. It has preserved its historical value, so even in the 21st century, the primary mode of transportation is kalesa, a two-wheeled horse-drawn carriage. Cars, trucks, and other vehicles emit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases which are harmful to the environment, so The Pilgrim has avoided the use of vehicles. The main goal of preserving the town's historical value is to also preserve its natural environment. The Pilgrim has less environmental issues like air and water pollution, and the entire community intends to keep it that way. However, kalesa isn't the only mode of transportation in our simple and small town. Most of the young residents of The Pilgrim use bicycle since it's also eco-friendly.

Ensuring an eco-friendly transport isn't the only thing that's strictly being followed in our small town. Aside from restriction of vehicles, there is no smoking allowed, so cigarettes and tobacco are non-existent in our community. Lastly, the use of plastics is also banned, so instead of plastic bags, everyone uses paper bags or non-woven polypropylene bags that people often refer to as eco bag. Also, instead of plastic straws, the community uses bamboo and paper straws.

In sharing with you all these awesome facts about my small town, I just realized how proud I am that I belong to an eco-friendly community since birth, and I intend to stay here with my family.

By the way, I'm Uriel, the oldest of the Trinidad family. I don't have a mama. My papa told me she passed away when she gave birth to me, but I do have siblings from my papa's second wife, who left him for a sophisticated life in the city after giving birth to my adorably cute little sister, Hailey. It's just me, my papa Bobby, and my siblings, Marie, Robin, and Hailey.

I was born on September 12, 1994 so that makes me 26, turning 27 this year. And now that I'm saying this, I feel like I'm getting old. If you're curious about how I look like, my face is a cross between an oval and heart shape, I have a set of dark brown almond-shaped eyes with puffy monolids, I have full lips, a good set of white teeth, and dimples, which by the way, makes me more attractive (my best friend said that, so believe him).

I'm a Filipino Mestizo, also colloquially referred to as 'Tisoy.' In the Philippines, Tisoys are people of mixed native Filipino and any foreign ancestry. My papa has Spanish blood, so that makes me Filipino and a bit of Spanish. I don't speak Spanish though. None of my family does. Lastly, I'm 5'11". Yep, I'm tall. The girls that I dated before said that they loved my eyes, height, and dimples the most. So, let's just believe them.

There are other things about me aside from everything I mentioned above: I love crabs, and also, there is something very strange about me that is either annoying, or amusing. I'm the God of destruction, they say. I don't know why I break or drop things so easily. It's probably because I don't have control of my own strength sometimes. I'm not really that strong. I guess, I'm just clumsy. Sometimes, I act without thinking because my mind is often not here on Earth. What can I say? I love reading, so I'm always in my own fantasy world. I think I said that many times already.

Anyway, I think I have pretty much described myself, my small town, and just a little bit about my family. But if there's one person that I could talk to without inhibitions, and by that, I mean, someone I could tell my secrets to, that would be Justin. He was born on September 1, 1997, so that makes him 23 which is way much younger than I am, so I'm almost like a real older brother to him. You may think that he's my best friend because we were both born on September and that we share the same personality, but NO. We don't. We're completely the opposite. I love books, he hates them. You will never see him read books, even comics. He doesn't like reading unless he's googling something he's interested in, like how to make sushi or sashimi, how to make chicken sauce, and many other things to eat. He's half Korean, so he often cooks Korean food. He also likes Japanese food. Or I guess he just loves everything. He makes the best Jjapaguri, a Korean dish made by combining Neoguri and Chapagetti, then topped with steak.

I call him the ramyeon master. He literally makes the best ramen, and everything else that he puts together is so delicious. I don't' know how he prepares things so perfectly, but I don't. I don't cook. I can, but I'd rather not, because I'm not that good. See, that's another opposite thing between me and Justin.

Also, while I'm into books, he's more into physical things, like boxing and taekwondo. He works out every day of his life, so even though I'm an inch taller than him, and my body built is bigger than him, he's way much stronger than I am because of his muscles. He has a lean body with muscles, so girls drool over him.

Now, I'm sure you're curious about his looks. He has a square-shaped face and his jawline is his most prominent feature. He has low set brows and partial mono-lid eyes, thin lips, and a bunny smile with a good set of teeth. By the way, I'll take back what I said about him and me being the complete opposite because we do share the same interests: the love for food, music, family, and this small town. Plus, he also has dimples. Mine are short and deep, whereas his dimples are long. As girls would normally say it, his dimples are illegal, and to die for. Okay, why do I think this is funny?

"Bro!" Speaking of the…Justin surprised the crap out of me, so my elbow accidentally hit my iced Americano when I turned 180 degrees to face him. "Whoops," he said.

"Why did you have to yell?" I asked, sounding annoyed as the waitress of The Pilgrim Café started walking her way towards me, or I guess, towards the spilled drink. I feel bad for giving her a hard time at least once a week. I don't know why I always tend to spill drinks.

When the waitress appeared to wipe the table, Justin gave her an apologetic look with a smile that showed his so-called killer dimples. "I'm sorry." The girl's pale cheeks suddenly turned red. It was me who was supposed to apologize, but Justin already did it for me. "You wouldn't have noticed me if I didn't yell because your face was buried in that book." He said this while his doe eyes blamed the innocent book I was holding. I held onto it dearly like a helpless child.